Nationalism rots your brain
I don’t think people realize how profoundly nationalism distorts their view of the world. Consider a recent comment in response to my complaint about people’s obsession with the Gaza War:
I suggest you ask a Palestinian for their views.
Maybe he was joking, as from a certain perspective this is an amusing response to my earlier post. But I suspect he was serious. If so, then my response is why the hell would I be more interested in the views of Palestinians than the views of Bolivians? Yeah, the views of Palestinians and Israelis differ, as both groups are nationalistic. Isn’t that the problem? In a rational world, they would not hold different views.
I sympathize with victims everywhere in the world. But the solution is not more nationalism, it’s cosmopolitanism.
The solution is the US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, London, etc.
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6. May 2024 at 19:22
Have you read Orwell’s essay on Nationalism (contrasted with patriotism) in which he says that all Nationalists have to believe something false, eg that the UK was just as strong after WW2 as before, and a list of others.
6. May 2024 at 19:26
Switzerland? Didn’t they ban minarets a few years ago? I get that they have relatively high levels of immigration, but I kind of assumed that they aren’t very cosmopolitan. Not nationalists either, really. It seems to me that they have a good thing going, know that they do, and don’t want to tip over the apple cart. Maybe it is that they have somewhat attenuated identities? As opposed to people who are nationalists or people who are “cosmopolitans” (putting that in quotes because I suspect that I am using it in a different way than Sumner, as people in the US who perceive themselves as cosmopolitan are in practice as rigidly wedded to that identity as nationalists are to their own identities).
6. May 2024 at 21:52
Tom, I quoted Orwell on that point a few months back in another post.
https://www.econlib.org/the-world-weve-lost/
Lizard, Switzerland is not protectionist. They have very high rates of immigration. They don’t invade other countries. They have people that speak multiple languages, and the majority language doesn’t oppress the minority.
They aren’t perfect, but what other country can say all of that? Maybe Canada, but very few others.
6. May 2024 at 22:48
Scott,
“…In a rational world, they would not hold different views…”
doesn’t this assume that they share the same worldwiev, i.e. the same model of how the world works? It probably evan means they have the same utility function?
Why do you believe people can/should have the same view of the world? Everyone is subject to myriad of individually unique experiences, is a product of history and genes.
It is probably even theoretically impossible that they will agree on the same ends..
6. May 2024 at 22:59
Scott,
“…The solution is the US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, London…”
These places are the product of their history. You cannot make a Swiss out of an Afghan, Palestinian or an Israeli settler..
Provocative question:
all these places have a culture that somehow seems to result in below replacement birthrates, i.e. they would shrink without immigration.
What would happen, if the entire world adopted this culture?
History shows that, one cannot assume that it would be self correcting…
7. May 2024 at 06:20
US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, London, etc. all have had some serious issues with immigration in the past few years. Is there a problem with the rate of immigration? or composition as they have seen in Europe? I’d be for a doubling of legal immigration, easing of the process, and sharp cuts in illegal immigration.
Canada’s system was working well until they increased the numbers and went away from merit based immigration.
7. May 2024 at 07:12
The solution is a little bit simpler (yet more difficult because it requires something of us… more than just saying be cosmopolitan)…
“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets”.
7. May 2024 at 07:29
Viennacapitalist, I’d be thrilled if the entire world rejected the culture of nationalism. I am not advocating that everyone have the same taste in food, music, clothing, etc.
TMC, “serious issues with immigration”
Imagine the serious issues they’d face without the immigration!
“I’d be for a doubling of legal immigration, easing of the process, and sharp cuts in illegal immigration.”
I’d be fine with that.
“
7. May 2024 at 08:43
Dr. Sumner, I think we misunderstood one another. In my reading of your post, “the question is the problem,” you suggested that anyone asking you about Gaza has a mind infected with “identity politics virus,” and should ask you instead about “more important conflicts.” The Gaza War is different from other conflicts because of US involvement. You ask, “why the hell would I be more interested in the view of Palestinians than Bolivians.” Well, because interacting with an intelligent, cosmopolitan person from Palestine, Lebanon, or the region can genuinely help you understand why you should care about this conflict in particular – how US involvement in the Middle East is different from US involvement in Ukraine, for example. I’m a long-time reader and have always found you thoughtful and interesting, but as a non-nationalistic person with family in the region, I find this post confusing. I don’t understand why you think I may be joking. And finally, “did the US commit genocide against Germany in WWII?” I don’t know, I’m no expert on WWII. In this case, however, the term may be appropriate.
7. May 2024 at 09:42
@Camden
The term “genocide” to describe the war in gaza shows either 1) a complete lack of understanding of the term or 2) a complete lack of understanding of facts on the group.
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide.shtml
If the Mexican government organized an attack into Texas where they killed, raped and kidnapped over 35,000 people (adjusted for pop.), do you think the United States, or any country in the World, would allow that to occur without incident? I cannot recall a single modern conflict where a military operation has taken as much care as the Israeli army in protecting Palestinians citizens. The ratio of combatant deaths vs civilian deaths, EVEN USING NUMBERS FROM HAMAS, are lower than any other major conflict in the Middle East in the post WWII era.
What is your solution here Camden? What should Israel do in this situation, just curious to hear your thoughts.
7. May 2024 at 10:43
Concerning genocide, I think South Africa made a very strong case against Israel at the International Court of Justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa%27s_genocide_case_against_Israel.
Don’t look for “solutions” in the Middle East, just accept whatever is inevitable. Come to think of it, I kind of agree with Sumner that we’re wasting our time talking about it. No one over 40 in the USA supports Israel, their backing will evaporate in a decade. If possible, rather than repeating Israeli propaganda about protecting civilians, I strongly encourage you to go to the Middle East to have a better-informed opinion. No American can spend any amount of time on the other side of their razor wire without having a radical change of opinion.
7. May 2024 at 12:33
>>> Yeah, the views of Palestinians and Israelis differ, as both groups are nationalistic.
I find this statement pretty shocking
I mean, yes, if one believes that Israel shouldn’t exist and Jews should just disappear from there or submit to mercy of Arabs (and other Muslims) around them – yes, this makes sense. But anyone who doesn’t want a massacre to occur realises that Israel can’t stop defending itself. Or is 7 million people a small change in the world of billions?
The only “nationalistic” thing about Israeli Jews I am personally aware of is their desire to survive. You, Scott, have never been exposed to the nightmare of contemplating death – not your own of course, but your whole family, everyone around you, your whole country full of people, and knowing that this happened before. So I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked.
It would be stupid to suggest there are no very aggressive nationalists in Israel – but it’s clearly not a majority.
7. May 2024 at 14:03
Groups exists because profound differences in IQ and behavior exists between groups. The right could mostly ignore groups except on immigration if the left didn’t try to hammer them on disparate income between groups. Once you have the left screaming racism and attacking the meritocracy the right needs an explanation for why differences exists which means groups.
7. May 2024 at 15:05
Everyone, Don’t assume that you know my views on the Arab-Israeli conflict, that’s not what this post is about. But FWIW:
1. The conflict has nothing to do with US support for Israel. They are quite capable of taking care of themselves with or without US financial aid. If anything, they would be more aggressive without our aid, which comes with strings attached.
2. It’s bizarre to equate opposition to nationalism (an obviously evil ideology) with opposition to Israel defending itself. Don’t confuse nationalism with patriotism. Netanyahu is a nationalist. Some of his allies are far worse. His opponents within Israel are hardly anti-Israeli, but they are far less nationalistic. They believe that Arabs deserve to be treated with respect, but they don’t want to see Israel destroyed.
3. I have never once criticized Israel’s decision to attack Gaza.
Joseph, You said:
“It would be stupid to suggest there are no very aggressive nationalists in Israel – but it’s clearly not a majority.”
I agree with that. Most people in all countries are at least slightly nationalistic, perhaps including even me. I’m focused on the more extreme versions of nationalism.
Jack, The fact that people differ is no reason to engage in nationalism. People differ even within groups. And yes, woke ideology is part of the problem. But does it excuse Trump calling for a Muslim travel ban? There’s plenty of blame on both sides.
7. May 2024 at 17:29
Dr Sumner, your assertion that the conflict has nothing to do with US support is contradicted by both expert opinion and common knowledge in the region. The recent $26 billion Israel aid bill is salient. It also seems to me that without US support, Israel would be extremely isolated internationally and would be forced to make concessions like the nationalists in South Africa in the 90s. So, if the Gaza War amounts to genocide and is contingent on US supposed, then questions about your opinion on it in the US are not just a symptom of a mind infected with identity politics virus. Not only can a respectable case made on counts, but they’re transparently obvious to anyone with a shred of experience in Palestine or the neighboring region.
7. May 2024 at 18:40
Sorry Dr Sumner but just one last thing. I’m a trump-loathing libertarian like you. I like your movie recommendations. I teach my money and banking students about nominal gdp targeting, inspired by you. I’ve read your blog since 2008 and was never been inspired to comment before. But on this one issue…
7. May 2024 at 19:13
The city centers in many U.S. areas were abandoned because of diversity hurting long term agglomeration effects and hurting the environment because it led to the suburbs. America is less dense because of diversity.
In France every child is searched for genitil mutilation because diversity led to an epidemic of it and now to eliminate gm every young girl gets an invasive exam.
7. May 2024 at 23:46
Nationalism was once a word that people used to separate a patriot (good) from a radical (bad).
But nowadaways that term has been hijacked by leftwing radicals who use it to label anyone who’s against open borders.
Israel, btw, is cosmopolitan. There are many arabs, christians and jews living there.
And humanity, Scott, has tried open borders. You’re hard left view is not original. Old tribes operated on an open border policy. They had to protect themselves from organized groups with different values, so they established borders.
The U.S. is not the ideal anymore. 45% of Americans believe a civil war is imminent because our values are radically different (mostly due to the wrong kind of immigration). Ireland and the U.K, France, and Germany, are also on the verge of civil war. It should be clear that cultures clash; and that’s why if you do allow immigration you have to limit the number of immigrants and give them time to assimilate.
If you want harmony and peace, and security, and love, and all of those good things than society must have common values. Skin color doesn’t matter, but values do. Diversity for the sake of diversity, and forcing people to live together is not very bright.
And we’re not the same. You’re german. You’re not Irish. You’re not italian. You’re not Russian. You’re not african; you’re not Japanese. You’re not Han Chinese, even if you want to be. There are I.Q. differences between ethnic groups. The Irish outperform wherever we live for a reason. Our ethnic group has an average I.Q. of 110. We have a lot of Irishmen who have I.Q.’s in the 130’s. It’s unsettling fact, but a fact nonetheless. Do you really think the Irish want Nigerians, with an average I.Q. of 85, to live in the same community? If we need able bodied workers, we’d rather recruit from Japan, or Romania, Russia, Italy or Germany. Not to mention, the island is quite small. We only have room for so many.
The Japanese model is the correct model. Be friendly, be accepting, seek to understand, but also be weary of allowing other cultures to erode your own, because it can destroy you.
8. May 2024 at 00:28
Who ‘wants peace’? “Hamas wants to destroy Israel, right? But as Mehdi Hasan shows in a new video on blowback, Israeli officials admit they helped start the group.”?
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/19/hamas-israel-palestine-conflict/
https://x.com/Mauerback/status/1715685270761205918?s=20
8. May 2024 at 02:31
It’s important to understand that Scott’s definition and characterization of nationalism has long been the established view in political science. I was an international relations major and nearly earned a political science degree before switching majors as an undergrad. Nationalism was a topic that came up in multiple courses, taught by professors from multiple political ideologies, including both left and right. There was no disagreement on nationalism. Nationalism has been widely condemned by scholars since at least the end of World War 2, if not prior.
8. May 2024 at 06:12
@ Camden
“No one over 40 in the USA supports Israel, their backing will evaporate in a decade”
Do you mean under 40? There is a direct correlation between age and support for Israel in the united states…
“I think South Africa made a very strong case against Israel at the International Court of Justice”
Goodbye to any credibility you might have had….
” If possible, rather than repeating Israeli propaganda about protecting civilians, I strongly encourage you to go to the Middle East to have a better-informed opinion. No American can spend any amount of time on the other side of their razor wire without having a radical change of opinion.”
It’s not even Israeli propaganda, I literally used data from HAMAS to make my point. Civilian / Combatant deaths (EVEN USING DATA FROM HAMAS) show one of the lowest casualty rates for any modern day urban conflict.
Why is Hamas not on trial here for war crimes and genocide against their own people? They are the governing body who is consistently attempting to have their own civilians killed for their own benefit?
With respect to US involvement – Scott is absolutely right, without US backing, Israel would need to have been much more aggressive to ensure other actors in the middle east were deterred from getting involved. Without US backing, and a weak Israeli response, it’s almost a guarantee that Iran and Hezbollah would have intervened.
8. May 2024 at 06:33
Anti-nationalism rots the brain, for it prevents detection of globalist crime syndicates seeking to destroy nations through fake/controlled wars with real deaths and destruction.
Not all one government worlds are equal.
Imagine if the Third Reich, or Stalin’s or Mao’s communist nightmares, succeeded in abolishing all other nations’ sovereignty and established a one world government.
Guessing that in these scenarios, while we’re all slaves in a gulag or concentration camp, that some ‘anti-nation’ voices will be insisting that “this is not REAL abolition of nations like we have called for, because the world government is treating the world as its own nation. This is nationalism par excellence!”
A one world government is not an abolition of nations, it is converting the world into one nation, it is itself the acme of nationalism. And like Hayek wrote, which types of people tend to rise to the top the more powerful the nation? Imagine who would want to have control of a one world government. Benevolent dictator faith would be a farce.
8. May 2024 at 06:46
Speaking of ‘anti-nationalism which is itself pro-nationalism’, documents just released indicate State Dept knew COVID leaked from Wuhan lab and CCP covered it up back in July 2020.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/05/breaking-documents-reveal-us-state-department-officials-knew/
inb4 attacking the messenger, not the message (argumentative fallacy).
8. May 2024 at 08:25
Camden, You said:
“In this case, however, the term may be appropriate.”
I cannot even imagine any plausible argument for this claim, unless you wish to claim that almost all wars are genocide.
“as a non-nationalistic person with family in the region,”
Some people with family in the region think I’m too soft on Israel. Others think I’m too tough on Israel. I don’t see why having family in the region allows one to have a more rational opinion, but maybe I’m missing something.
“I don’t understand why you think I may be joking.”
My post argued that many people’s views are not rational, and instead reflect personal identity perspectives, and you respond:
“I suggest you ask a Palestinian for their views.”
That’s funny.
I don’t want the views of Palestinians or Israelis, I want the views of human beings.
“your assertion that the conflict has nothing to do with US support is contradicted by both expert opinion and common knowledge in the region.”
Israel is a rich and powerful nation of nearly 10 million. Gaza is a small and poor enclave wedged between Israel and Eqypt. I’m not saying the US has zero impact, but the war would occur with or without our aid. Israel can easily defeat Gaza.
“But on this one issue…”
That’s exactly the problem! If I posted on the wars in Yemen or Burma you would not feel so passionately about any mistakes you perceive me as making. Don’t you see that the problem is that you focus on this issue for all of the wrong reasons. And I would say the same thing to those who think I’m being too tough on Israel.
If you followed my blog you should know that I hate identity politics. Nothing here should be at all surprising.
Jack, You said:
“because of diversity”
That’s absurd. I live in one of America’s most diverse counties, and Orange County is also one of the very best places to live in the entire world. Some of the world’s most appealing cities are highly cosmopolitan. (London, Toronto, NYC, LA, etc.)
Sara, And so we learn that Sara is an Irish person who believes her group is the master race.
Michael, You said:
“It’s important to understand that Scott’s definition and characterization of nationalism has long been the established view in political science.”
Unfortunately, we are entering a new dark age when all we learned in the late 20th century is being forgotten.
8. May 2024 at 08:27
MF, LOL, He’s baaaack!
8. May 2024 at 08:30
It’s always fascinating to see people talk about the Habsburg Empire as being a terrible, old fashioned thing that should have collapsed far earlier than it did. So many ‘nations’ lived together without major violence for centuries! It was an outstanding success and Europe is poorer for its destruction.
In my view, we need more Habsburg Empires and less Israels and Palestines. (File under things one can only write under a pseudonym.)
Highly recommend ‘Imagined Communities’, if you have never read it.
I love the commentator above me claiming that not being nationalistic means that one is ignorant of ‘globalist crime syndicates.’ What does that even mean? Whatever it is that you’re drinking, please send me a case!
8. May 2024 at 08:42
Oh, and I’ve just read Sara’s comment:
‘the U.K, France, and Germany, are also on the verge of civil war’
This is a valid point. Here in the middle of London, I am worried that we will soon be attacked by Mancunians in league with Scousers. I understand my friends in Paris are likewise concerned about an imminent attack from Provence. And, of course, we all know that Saxony and Lower Saxony are just looking for an excuse to bring out the Panzers!
Seriously, what is the point of this type of trolling? Thanks for the Mittwoch laugh!
8. May 2024 at 08:57
You got to love Sara (or whatever she really is). There is good nationalism (patriotism) and there is bad nationalism (race).
Followed immediately by opposition to immigration due to keep the gene pool from being polluted by people from shit hole countries. Lol. So you admit you advocated bad nationalism.
If not, do you oppose immigration from Spearman Texas to Austin Texas? If not, why? Aren’t you afraid they will take Austintoians jobs? Why not? Is it because only foreign people take current residents jobs?
I suspect it’s because you don’t like those races here. Hence you are a bad nationalist by your own definition.
You know what’s just? Doing to today’s immigrants as we did to you and the irish scum the bad nationalists called you.
Your opposition is both unjust (allow me but not thee) and based on race.
You are the problem.
8. May 2024 at 09:11
“I don’t see why having family in the region allows one to have a more rational opinion, but maybe I’m missing something.”
If you live in the region, you develop a much more thorough and contextual understanding of the environment and the situation. I’m kind of bewildered that you would dismiss that as “funny.”
“Israel is a rich and powerful nation of nearly 10 million. Gaza is a small and poor enclave wedged between Israel and Eqypt. I’m not saying the US has zero impact, but the war would occur with or without our aid. Israel can easily defeat Gaza.”
Again, absent US support they would face international isolation and need to make concessions.
“If I posted on the wars in Yemen or Burma you would not feel so passionately about any mistakes you perceive me as making.”
I imagine that your readers with deep personal experience in Yemen or Burma might.
8. May 2024 at 09:23
Camden,
You leapt from having distant family members living there to living there yourself. It’s highly annoying when someone claims to know more about something like medicine because their wife is a doctor. Your wife might know more but are your brains connected or something? You might know a little more about medicine if your wife is a doctor but not much. Almost nothing more if your cousin is a doctor.
While this isn’t Scott’s point… I find… my brother is such and such so I know more about that such and such than you. That’s ridiculous.
8. May 2024 at 09:24
*i find it highly annoying…
8. May 2024 at 09:34
Major_Freedom, like many, is confused about the definition of “nation” in this context. The everyday defintion of “nation”, which is largely equivalent to the word “state” in many cases, does not apply here. This is the definition of “nation” as used in “nation-state”m for example. A “nation”, in this sense, is potentially and often a sub-group of a state. That can be an ethnic nation, religious nation, etc. Hence, those who favor a one-world government truly are anti-nationalist in this sense.
Nation-states include examples like Germany, Japan, and France, in which there are German, Japanese, and French people. In some ways, someone from elsewhere without a shared heritage can never be German, Japanese, or French. This is also true of Israel.
The nation-state is fundamentally un-American. The US was founded to be a state, but not a nation-state. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t nationalist in some ways at its founding, but many of the founders had the ideal that the US should only be a state, and we’ve evolved in that direction, until recently.
8. May 2024 at 10:19
Camden,
‘Again, absent US support they would face international isolation and need to make concessions.’
Good point. There is definitely no support for Israel from Germany, France, the UK, or other prosperous Western powers!
8. May 2024 at 10:42
Tacitus, Yes, I agree about the Hapsburgs. And these people also tell us how horrible the EU is. People seem to have forgotten that it was nationalists that voted for the Nazis in 1932. Cosmopolitan types were opposed. Jewish people living in Germany in 1932 were German patriots and anti-nationalists. And we are now to believe that’s a bad thing?
Camden, You said:
“If you live in the region, you develop a much more thorough and contextual understanding of the environment and the situation. I’m kind of bewildered that you would dismiss that as “funny.””
Well don’t both Israelis and Palestinians live in “the region”? And yet for some odd reason they have dramatically different views of “the environment and the situation”. Why would that be? Might it have something to do with nationalism leading to less than rational appraisals of the situation?
But it’s a moot point, as I was referring to the US people who are obsessed with this issue, who do not live in the region.
8. May 2024 at 11:02
Just adding a paragraph from Orwell’s Notes on Nationalism (which Scott has cited in other places) to clarify the definition of nationalism that I think is being used here:
In my interpretation of Orwell’s view, the problem with nationalism is the desire for power and the sinking of individuality.
Where things get tricky is on land that was conquered some time ago. Behavior that a second or third generation Israeli considers patriotic might be considered nationalistic by a Palestinian who disputes the Israeli’s right to live there. What is the statute of limitations on when a displaced patriot becomes a nationalist if he attempts to regain his former homeland?
8. May 2024 at 15:37
A world of city-states is an interesting idea.
But I suspect immigration and state-economic policies would be even more intrusive in such a world.
Likely some very exclusive city-states would emerge. A few toilet cities might emerge as well.
I wonder about so-called cosmopolitan immigration policies. Would we really like to see Japan become a majority non-Japanese nation? Do Japanese, even if for racist motives, have the right to retain the Japanese nature of their country?
Do some nations have the “right” to retain their culture, language and customs but other nations do not?
Sweden?
8. May 2024 at 16:47
If the US is supporting a major injustice in the Palestine, then concern about it in the US are not a sign of mental illness. When it comes to US policy, some people focus on the Jones Act, or sugar quotas. Others are more informed about the Middle East. You might also argue that only idiots worry about the drug war or police shootings, since Sudan is quantitatively more important.
“Don’t both Israelis and Palestinians live in “the region”? And yet for some odd reason they have dramatically different views of “the environment and the situation”. Why would that be? Might it have something to do with nationalism leading to less than rational appraisals of the situation?”
When I suggested you speak with a Palestinian, I actually had a few specific people in mind. All of them are highly cosmopolitan, non nationalistic, and with an exceptionally rational outlook, and can help you understand why concern about US policy in the region in warranted. I’m sure there are some Israelis with these qualities, but I don’t personally know any.
8. May 2024 at 16:49
Solon,
Who cares about Japan. If they want to be Japanese only… so be it. We in the USA are not that and have never been. Come here and work and raise children. You don’t have to be American (whatever that is anyway). We are a place where we are all created equally, with equal dignity under the law (supposedly, and imperfectly). Imbued with certain inalienable rights. Come work. Do what you do. Treat other people how you would want to be treated. Yes, that is Christian tradition… and for all of our benefit too.
The rest of this BS is for other places like Japan and Russia. Go worry about race all you want. Enjoy.
8. May 2024 at 17:47
Come to think of it, there is some value in engaging with your generic Palestianian, or Israeli for that matter, to get a sense of the shared experience of a people. If you’re an unbiased American you can quickly screen out the sectarian idiots. And consider –
S – “concern about racism in America is unwarranted”
C – “I suggest you speak with a black person.”
S – “That’s hilarious, you must be joking.”
8. May 2024 at 18:11
Camden, I have no doubt that if you put some thoughtful Israelis and Palestinians in a room they could come up with a solution. But that’s not because of their ethnicity, it’s because they are thoughtful and well informed. FWIW, my views on “the situation” are pretty similar to those of Matt Yglesias.
You seem to think I don’t don’t know about Israel’s abuses in places like the West Bank. I do.
You said:
“S – “concern about racism in America is unwarranted”
C – “I suggest you speak with a black person.”
S – “That’s hilarious, you must be joking.””
Not sure if you are trolling, but if you think this is analogous to anything I’ve been saying, you are mistaken.
A better analogy is the foreign protests back in 2020 when there was police brutality in America. It’s not that police brutality in the US isn’t a problem, but there are countries where it’s an order of magnitude worse than the US. So why the international protests directed at the US, but not those other countries? (No need to answer, we all know why.)
8. May 2024 at 21:45
The problem with the analogy is that European governments weren’t sending money and guns to US police departments.
9. May 2024 at 03:14
“In a rational world they would not hold different views.”
Of course a rational world permits different views.
Do you know how to build a skycraper? If I gave you an unlimited budget would you be able to build one? My guess is that you could not. Do you think that maybe somebody who has that information might draw a different conclusion about NYC real estate, and residential and commercial development? Is it possible that you might think the home you purchased was rational, but that an NYC developer might disagree?
Do you think it’s possible that a professional golfer understands a bit more than you about the sport of golf, and can thus draw better conclusions about, I don’t know, how to navigate the green on a windy day, how get out of a bad slump, how to the hit ball really far, etc.
You might say, but that’s only in cases of assymetric information. What if all information was equal.
If I eat ten slizes of pizza, and value the 11th slice as much as the 10th slice, but you don’t value any pizza after the 4th slice, then we are both making rational decisions based on subjective preferences.
We might both know the price of the pizza; we might have the same income; but we each value pizza differently. I simply like it more than you. My preference for pizza doesn’t make my decision less rational than yours.
The problem with the left is that they don’t understand just how intolerant and bigoted they are. Your statement reveals your intolerance and arrogance: intolerance for others who think differently than you, and arrogance because you actually believe that everyone who thinks like you is logical, and everyone who thinks differently is illogical.
You’re not cosmopolitan at all. You just want 8 billion sumners.
Here is another example of why 8B sumners would be a terrible idea: you were well aware that less than 1% of people who got covid died, and almost all of the people who died were elderly. You were also aware that vaccines came with side-effects, and that nobody knew the long term side effects, if any. We still don’t.
Yet, despite that public information you were hysterical between 2020 and 2022.
Indeed, you wrote article after article calling people who disagreed with your view as “killers”. A standford professor, DeSantis, the oxford professor behind the great barrington declaration, rand paul, the surgeon general of florida, johnson of Minnesota, Mcullough, Malone, were all “killers’ according to your view. They were “anti-scientists.”
In other words, we should just mask up and shut up, because that’s what Sumner wants.
I think you should just be honest with your readers: tell the truth. You want to be a dictator. You prefer to make choices for other people because you’re a self described “elite” and they’re beneath you.
Just say it.
9. May 2024 at 07:35
Camden, You said:
“The problem with the analogy is that European governments weren’t sending money and guns to US police departments.”
That would change nothing. The US sends money and guns to lots of countries. And even if the Europeans sent our police guns, that “foreign aid” would have had no role in causing an individual case of police brutality.
Ricardo, “You just want 8 billion sumners.”
LOL, I don’t want even one Sumner.
10. May 2024 at 06:09
This article makes a good case against being so dismissive of the student protests:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/the-kids-are-not-all-right-they-want-to-be-heard
Concerning genocide, I don’t theres any dispute that the 1930s Ukraine famine qualifies. There’s famine in Gaza now. Blocking the entry of food and medicine is genocidal. See Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta’s description of operating on shot children without painkillers.
Finally, US support is extremely relevant. It empowers Putin and the mullahs and undermines any US credibility in supporting human rights and democracy, when the injustice in Palestine is so apparent. I understand that there are decent people in both sides, but this is really one area where making connecting with people living under Israeli bombardment is illuminating.
10. May 2024 at 06:16
Sorry for the grammar, it’s a shame there’s no “edit” button.
11. May 2024 at 08:02
Camden, Comparing Gaza to the Holodomor is just silly. Read The Harvest of Sorrow.
11. May 2024 at 14:23
Reflexive dismissal of their crimes is a familiar sign of pro-Israel bias. Semantics aside, children are starving to death in Gaza right now, to which the response is inevitably either (1) it’s not happening, (2), it’s no big deal, and finally (3), it’s actually Hamas’ fault.